WAIT! LISTEN! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Everyone calm down a minute and hear me out.
I am not saying the Rangers don’t make a trade before the deadline. I am saying, what if the Rangers don’t trade away their biggest trade chips? This is something most Ranger fans don’t want to hear. Like most fans, I feel like a wasted opportunity happened last year when the Rangers didn’t move Mike Minor before the deadline. Now, to be honest, I wasn’t thinking that then. I felt Minor and Lynn were a perfect pair to headline the 2020 rotation. However, it’s real easy to play armchair GM after the fact.
With the slide of 8 straight losses, my immediate thought was, SELL! SELL! SELL! But then I took a more measured approach and thought about this thing. Injuries have decimated this team. Minor has struggled, Allard has struggled and so has Jordan Lyles. The lineup is so riddled with injuries that Rougned Odor still has a spot in it. With all of that, there have been some bright spots. Nick Solak has solidified himself as an everyday player. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jose Trevino have shown they deserve to play more prominent roles.
Jonathan Hernandez, Rafael Montero, and now Kyle Cody look like their arms will play in the big leagues. What’s my point?
Maybe this team needs to get rid of dead weight and play the kids. See what true big-league players the Rangers have before the 2021 offseason begins. But, none of this works without being big-time players in the offseason.
MOVES I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MADE
TRADES
It is time to get rid of players that have no future with this club. So you attempt to move the following players. Todd Frazier, Shin-Soo Choo, Elvis Andrus, Mike Minor, Jesse Chavez, Jordan Lyles, Robinson Chirinos, Ian Gibaut. Danny Santana and Rougned Odor. None of them will bring a lot back, but any fringe prospect is better than nothing. Think Emmanuel Clase or Jason Bahr type deals.
They would most likely be PTBNL deals since most would be lower-level prospects that aren’t on the 60 man taxi squads. Choo and Minor would bring a better return. Andrus might be attractive to some teams.
DFA
Of the ones mentioned above, you DFA Chavez, Lyles, Chirinos, and Odor if there are no deals to be made. Along with them you DFA Rob Refsnyder and Jeff Mathis.
PLAYERS WE NEED SEE
After the air clears, the Rangers need to see Leody Taveras, Sam Huff, Anderson Tejeda, Sherten Apostel, Ronald Guzman, and Josh Jung. They need big league AB’s to add to their trade value or see if they can contribute. The Rangers also need to see some arms.
They need to bring up Demarcus Evans, Jason Bahr, and possibly even Ricky Vanasco. Vanasco would only be if Joe Palumbo doesn’t get back soon from his ulcerative colitis.
OFFSEASON
This offseason there is no excuse. First, you pick up the Cory Kluber option. That gives you Lance Lynn, Cory Kluber, and Kyle Gibson to start the rotation. The Rangers need to be in on every free agent and possible big-name trade. Names I want to see talked about. Trevor Baur, J.T. Realmuto, Justin Turner etc…. I want to see the Rangers mentioned in trades for Kris Bryant, Nolen Arenado, Francisco Lindor etc…… I don’t want excuses.
This team doesn’t need to be dismantled. If the owners will unlock the purse and spend some money, they can compete in 2021.
I thought they could compete this year. I was wrong. Now I am pissed.
You got a new stadium, so either put a better product on the field or sell the damn team.
Featured Image: John Minchillo/AP
